Environmental Technologies Professions Gain Skilled Candidates From Online Course Program Grads With Their Environmental Masters Degrees

These days, it seems to be all about the environment: More people are conserving water and energy, even moving to alternative energy. They're driving hybrid and electric vehicles, planting trees and shrubs that require less water and more cooling shade than others. They're switching from petroleum and natural gas power to solar and wind energy.

This increased attention to the environment affects job responsibilities, as well as educational programs to prepare workers for them. Degree programs offered by colleges, universities and technical schools as a result are more often related to the environment. Some institutions are adding new degree programs in the environment and sustainability; others are changing existing programs to keep students current. Among the programs that have been taking on a sustainability focus are those related to technology.

At Rainy River Community College in Minnesota, for example, an associate degree program in Green and Sustainable Construction Technology offers students opportunities to learn how technologies can decrease a building's waste and increase its efficiency when it comes to energy and water resources. New York City College of Technology offers a Sustainable Technology certificate program where students can analyze the life cycle costs of new high-tech materials, alternative energy systems and new construction methods. Central Carolina Community College this year is planning a new associate's degree in Sustainable Technology, with focuses on alternative energy and green building.

Even an Environmental Sciences bachelor's degree program at the Oregon Institute of Technology has been changed. The program in 2009 became known as Environmental Sciences/Sustainable Technology, through which students take courses in mechanical engineering technologies, renewable energy engineering, civil engineering and business management, an article in The Oregonian noted. The National Center for Appropriate Technology, a non-profit organization that works to promote sustainable technology systems, lists Salish Kootenai College in Montana as well as a University of Idaho Biodiesel Fuel Education program among its partners.

In addition to helping students gain a competitive advantage, with workplace settings that are more often taking concerns about the environment into account, courses in sustainable technologies are designed to meet the growing demands of companies involved in the field of environmentally-friendly systems, the New York City College of Technology notes. One of these systems has made news in the Nantucket, Mass., area. The Boston Globe recently reported that officials in the region gave the go-ahead to a controversial alternative energy project known as Cape Wind.

More than 100 wind turbines expected to rise along the Massachusetts coast as part of Cape Wind could promote green energy and decrease the area's reliance on fossil fuels, proponents said. The project could also help Massachusetts become a pioneer in green energy technology and create many jobs, according to The Boston Globe article. Even with these positives, however, the project is said to have drawn the ire of people concerned that views from Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard would be obstructed.

The campuses of colleges, universities and technical schools also are becoming more “clean and green.” An annual report released in June by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability noted that some 166 green campus structures either opened or received environmental awards and certifications. By May 2011, Northern California's Butte College expects to become the only institution in the country to produce more solar power than it uses, according to a recent announcement from the institution.

Studies in the area of sustainable technology might lead to careers in renewable energy, biofuels, green construction or consulting, the Central Carolina Community College website suggests. Working adults with technology degrees might consider satisfying lifelong learning needs through sustainability courses that might help them update their skills or knowledge.

Adult learners who are planning or hoping to work at the forefront of new systems that take concerns about the environment into account might consider distance learning college programs so that they might more easily schedule studies between outside responsibilities. Students are extending their personal passion for the planet by getting their environmental science masters degree and then putting into practice what they’ve learned.